Interview with Theodoros Nikolovgenis, Distribution Center Manager at the Papaellinas Group of Companies

Based in Nicosia, Cyprus, with a history that dates back more than 80 years, Papaellinas is one of the biggest and most dynamic organizations on the island nowadays. The organization leads in all areas of its line of work, such as pharmaceutical and fast moving consumer goods distribution; health foods and natural remedies retailing; flagrances and cosmetics distribution and retailing. Roadmap: For which main reason do you use vehicle tracking? Theodoros Nikolovgenis: First and foremost we know where all our vehicles are and how they are behaving. A vehicle tracking / fleet management system can make a big difference to a company managing a fleet made up of 17 trucks and 2 vans by improving customer service, driver and vehicle efficiency, controlling the appointments and deliveries with our customers and providing information that can save us a significant amount of money. R: For how long have you been using vehicle tracking / fleet management? TN: Since 2009. In the last six months we had a trial version of a full operational system with Frotcom and it gave us immediate results, hence the decision of switching to Frotcom. R: What was the main reason for switching providers?  TN: The first thing we noticed is that Frotcom is logically designed. We switched for a few reasons, such as routing optimization which provides us not only very accurate directions, but also suggests alternative routes. The reports generated by Frotcom are very simple and useful. We can choose which reports to receive automatically with the most relevant tracking data for our analysis. The other reason associated to our decision is Frotcom's Eco-driving. With this module we can control accelerations and braking, idling, speeding and in some cases over revving (RPMs) and cruise control usage. Frotcom‘s Eco-driving is helping us reduce costs and our carbon footprint. R: Are you happy with the service provided by your current vehicle tracking / fleet management supplier? TN: Of course. Frotcom has an excellent service and from the beginning Frotcom Cyprus showed us the benefits of using Frotcom. Frotcom was so well introduced to drivers that it was quickly accepted. R: What are the key challenges facing your fleet operation? TN: The continuous increase of petroleum prices and spare parts; the ability to integrate new customers to existing routes, optimizing mileage; to have zero accident rates; and last but not the least, to reduce the carbon footprint in our distribution channels, in the context of corporate social responsibility. R: How has Frotcom benefited your business and operational performance? TN: We expect 10% cost reduction with routing optimization and 10% cost reduction with Frotcom’s eco-driving. We would like to come up with real numbers in one year to show that when you have the right human resources culture and the appropriate tools, you can be a model.